Karl-Anthony Towns goes No. 1 to Timberwolves in NBA Draft

To nobody's surprise, the Timberwolves selected Kentucky forward Karl-Anthony Towns with the first overall pick in Thursday's NBA Draft.

The 6-11 Towns averaged 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks for a Kentucky team that reached the Final Four undefeated before falling to Wisconsin. The 19-year-old gives Minnesota an ideal player who can score in the paint and be a rim protector on defense. The Timberwolves were the only team for which Towns worked out.

"I'm going to go in right away and be as versatile as I can be," Towns told ESPN. "I'm looking to win. I'm not coming in there to find individual success. I want to help the team find success."

The Timberwolves, who now have the last three No. 1 overall picks on their roster, needed a center presence to supplement their talented back court of Zach LaVine, Kevin Martin and Ricky Rubio. Andrew Wiggins, last year's top pick and the NBA's Rookie of the Year, is an athletic swingman alongside fellow shooting forward Shabazz Muhammad.

Towns will be a big scoring upgrade over 6-11 centers Gorgui Dieng and Nikola Pekovic and 6-8 power forward Anthony Bennett, the top draft pick in 2013.